Reading mural celebrates recovery from substance abuse disorder

Michelle Lynch, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 19—A new mural in Reading celebrates recovery from substance use disorder.

The artwork at the corner of 11th and Richmond streets is on a building owned by Albright College.

The dedication ceremony Thursday at Albright's Total Experience Learning Center helped mark alcohol awareness month, observed annually in April.

Titled The Journey, or El Viaje in Spanish, the mural was designed by Reading artist Marian Njai and digital designer Gregory Didyoung, under the direction of mural coordinator Mike Miller, the center's artist in residence.

The design reflects the recovery story of Yvonne Stroman, a community programs specialist for the Council on Chemical Abuse.

Stroman said she has been in recovery from substance use disorder for more than 33 years.

She shared with the artist the many joys she has discovered in her sobriety, including bicycling, journaling, helping others in recovery and mentoring young people.

The theme of Stroman's journey is reflected throughout the artwork, which includes inspirational quotes about her recovery and incorporates hand-cut stencil patterns resembling bicycle-themed images.

Completed in the fall of 2023, the mural was largely painted directly on the building and partly painted off-site in the center's public art studio. The process involved hundreds of community volunteers.

"The Journey" is the second recovery-themed mural painted in Reading.

An earlier work, Mi Recuperación, Mi Familia, or My Recovery, My Family, was completed in 2023 on a building at Ninth and Oley streets.

Designed by Berks County artist Leslie Ramos and coordinated by Miller, it depicts the importance of Jose Lugo's family in his recovery.

Both works were sponsored by SOS Berks, a coalition of community members and stakeholders dedicated to reducing overdose deaths in Berks County, in partnership with TELC and Berks Community Murals.

The works were funded in part by the Council on Chemical Abuse through money received from the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

SOS Berks hopes to install a series of murals throughout the county with a focus on recovery from substance use disorder.

The murals are intended to expand on a stigma reduction campaign created by SOS Berks promoting the theme "Addiction Doesn't Define Anyone."

Speakers at the dedication included Berks County officials, SOS Berks Officials, Njai, Didyoung, Miller, Stroman and others.

SOS Berks is invested in educating the community about the disease of a substance use disorder, raising awareness about stigma and providing information about resources available for prevention, treatment and recovery.

For more information on SOS Berks please visit sosberks.org.